Building adaptive capacity: applying the action scales model for self-evaluation in a community-based health...

Public health intervention research increasingly adopts a complex systems approach, viewing interventions as events in systems that must adapt to evolving circumstances for sustainability. This study examines how a process of self-evaluation guided by the Action Scales Model (ASM) can enhance adaptive capacity in intervention programmes.

This study reports on the experiences from the Child Life in Healthy Balance (CLHB) programme. Data sources include participant observations, interviews, meeting minutes, and implementation logs from programme developers, project leaders, and local practitioners collected between 2020 and 2024. Observations examined engagement with the ASM during workshops and implementation activities, while interviews illustrated practitioners' understanding of programme goals and implementation. Meeting minutes documented programme planning and self-evaluation discussions, and implementation logs showed progress and signs of change derived from the programme.

Through practice examples from the CLHB, we demonstrate how the ASM was used as a self-evaluative tool among programme developers and project leaders, as well as a framework for participatory evaluation and communication of programme goals to local practitioners. We highlight signs of capacity building and system change. The ASM facilitated structured discussions on implementation progress and helped align and adjust actions with programme goals. Although practitioners were not always explicitly aware of the ASM, interviews revealed that their understanding of programme goals was aligned with the terminology of the ASM and the overall principles of a systems approach. Some inconsistencies in interpreting the model created uncertainties, yet ASM proved valuable for communicating programme strategies and engaging local practitioners.

The ASM helped align actions with CLHB programme goals, fostering adaptive capacity by reframing and aligning perspectives. These positive experiences suggest that the ASM can be a useful tool for self-evaluation to enhance capacity-building efforts in systems-oriented community health interventions.